Birdie G's, the praised restaurant of Santa Monica, where the west medium meets the Jewish knowledge of Californian cuisine, will close at the end of the year. Chef-propietary Jeremy Fox cites the location of the restaurant and the considerable footprint, along with years of economic setbacks, as contributing factors.
As with many of Los Angeles restaurants in 2025, a series of events that included the attacks of pandemic, inflation and entertainment industry led to the decision. Drastic falls into business after Palisades near fire in January “he felt like the clove in the coffin,” said Fox, who is also a chef-companion of the Rustic Canyon restaurant.
In 2025, the weeks after the fire were felt as a repetition of COVID-19, he said: No client entered for dinner, and Fox and his team did not know if the staff should pass until the businesses recovered again. Fox estimates that income fell 80% during that time.
“That was a bloodbath, how much money we lost,” Fox said. “It was an amount of wicked money. It was so bad.”
Fox opened Birdie G's in June 2019 with partners Josh Loeb and Zoe Nathan, owners of Rustic Canyon Family Restaurant Group. The idea was a gourmand turn in restaurant chains, but made at a higher level: the accessible but still creative cuisine could be seen through the lens of its Jewish roots of the west and Eastern Europe, and use high quality seasonal ingredients.
He did not imagine Birdie G as a destiny hate, but “the friendliest and most friendly restaurant in the city.” Call for his daughter, Birdie and Grandma Gladys, he threw himself to favorable criticism and served flavor trays full of local products in Escabeche, a toasted of mousse of sweet and sweet chicken liver with jam of caramelized onion and pierogi of leaf tip.
He landed on the list of the best restaurants on Times 101 several years in a row (and is currently in number 52); He received recognition from the Michelin guide; And they obtained brilliant criticisms, with the Food Critic from Times, Bill Addison, calling him “the most popular restaurant of the year of Santa Monica” in 2019.
But the years since they have been difficult to sustain.
Outdoor dinner at Birdie G's inside the Bergamot station complex.
(Ricardo Deararatanha / Los Angeles Times)
Birdie G has 180 seats extended through 5,000 square feet in the mixed use complex called Bergamot Station.
The initial plans for buildings included a boutique hotel and multiple additional restaurants, more stores and a parking structure. The opening made sense in 2019: the industrial sector reminded Fox of the Arts District, and raw space with large windows and stone walls felt mature for its restaurant planned for a long time.
But after the pandemic, the construction of the complex was slowed, and the lack of parking in the restaurant, with a $ 18 valet that often serves as the only option for guests, also dissuaded, Fox said.
“I have definitely been fighting with my internal monologue for several years, wondering why things were not recovering, why things did not connect, and there were definitely many doubts,” Fox said. “But honestly I think we could have been the most perfect restaurant and that would not have made the difference yet, with the place where we were located.”
Fox said that the fires decimated in early 2025. Many of the restaurant's guests live in Las Palisadas and the surrounding areas, according to the chef owner. It also cites a decrease in tourism.
This year has tried new ways to attract customers to Birdie G's, such as leaning even more towards comforting foods and adding a praised hamburger and a brunch. While they helped, the chef added, it was not enough.
Jeremy Fox by Birdie G's Jeremy, and former kitchen chef, Brittany Cassidy, in 2019.
(Mariah Tauger / Los Angeles Times)
Although he had been weighing the decision to close since the beginning of the year, he stopped due to the flashes of hope. One month the seats of the extensive restaurant would be filled; The following, sales would fall by 40% without discernible reason.
So, now, with just over three months until closing, Fox and the other co -owners of the restaurant plan goodbye with more experimentation in addition to the most familiar set menu: “What is the worst thing that could happen, we stay out of business?”
“I hope that people who come are ready to celebrate Birdie G's will be open to some more adventurous things: the whims of the kitchen and what we can do.”
They have begun to add more special daily ones, including pyrays and homemade sausages and other recipes from the newest cookbook of Fox, “On Meat”. He hopes to offer more ambitious large format, as well as more shellfish. Guests can wait for a final race of the Hanukkah series favorite of restaurant fans, 8 nights, when a visiting chef and a local chef prepare a new menu every night.
An exclusive lamb dish to the Saless in Birdie G's.
(Ricardo Deararatanha / Los Angeles Times)
Much of the staff decided to stay until the end of the year, and some of the former students of the restaurant will return for guest shifts and special appearances.
And who knows, Fox said, maybe 2025 will not be the last of Birdie G forever.
“I love Birdie G and I believe in it,” he said, “so I hope there is a possibility of appearing again somewhere, somehow.”
Birdie G's is located in 2421 Michigan Ave. in Santa Monica, open from Tuesday to Thursday from 5 to 9 pm and Friday and Saturday from 5 to 9:30 pm
